Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະບູລີ), is a city in western
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
. It is the capital of
Savannakhet Province. With a population of 125,760 (2018),
it is the second-largest city in Laos, after
Vientiane. Although the old French
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
quarter of the town, along the
Mekong River-front, is depressed and crumbling, the town's proximity to
Thailand's booming economy has brought about new commercial development in the northern part of the town, near both the river crossing and the bus terminal.
Like all Lao cities, Savannakhet has a mixed population of
Lao,
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
,
Vietnamese and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, as well as minority peoples from the Lao interior. It has a large 15th-century
Buddhist temple, Wat Sainyaphum, a Chinese temple, the Catholic
Co-Cathedral of St. Therese and a mosque. The
Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
over the
Mekong connects to
Mukdahan Province in
Thailand. The two-lane, , bridge opened to the general public on 9 January 2007.
The annual per capita income of Kaysone Phomvihane City is US$2,041 (2018).
Name change
The settlement of Savannakhet was formerly called ''
Khanthaboury''. Then it became ''Savannakhet''. Its name was changed to ''Kaysone Phomvihane'' in 2005, while retaining its status as the provincial capital of Savannakhet Province. The city is the birthplace of
Kaysone Phomvihane, the first leader of Laos from 1975 to 1992 after the dissolution of the
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. In 2018, its status was upgraded to that of a "city". In order to attain city status, a district or municipality must be financially self-sufficient and have a population of at least 60,000 persons.
Transport
The city is served by
Savannakhet Airport.
Climate
Savannakhet features a
tropical savanna climate (''Aw'') according to
Köppen climate classification with a little
subtropical climate
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...
characteristics as the city located 16.5° north of the equator. The hottest month is April (mean = ) with temperature ranging from to , while the coolest month is December (mean = ) with temperature ranging from to . The
diurnal temperature variation seems to be greater during winter due to dry conditions. The city experiences
dry season during winter months and
wet season during summer months due to activation of
monsoon. The driest month is December with precipitation total , while the wettest month is August with precipitation total .
Savannakhet VatXaiyaphoum2 tango7174.jpg, Wat Sainyaphum
Savannakhet ChineseTemple2 tango7174.jpg, Chinese Buddhist Temple
Savannakhet ChùaDiêuGiác1 tango7174.jpg, Vietnamese Buddhist Temple Diệu Giác
Savannakhet StTeresa1 tango7174.jpg, St. Teresa's Catholic Church
Sister cities
*
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
,
Cambodia
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Savannakhet Province
Laos–Thailand border crossings
Populated places on the Mekong River